.SOMETIMES RAW.

Hello and Happy Sunday!

Thanks to Blogging for Books and the publisher for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review. I read Andie Mitchell’s memoir It Was Me All Along and loved it. This fact, as well as the cover and title drew my attention to her latest book. This does not affect my opinion of the content or the book in my review.

“At first, I tried to lighten the desserts I loved. I traded the real ingredients for sugar substitutes, butter substitutes, and the worst-tasting ingredients of all: fat-free cream cheese. My mom would try them, her smile as fake as the taste of aspartame. I learned the hard way that most of my efforts at lightening tended to, ironically enough, result in a leaden dessert. And worse, I realized that I wasn’t satisfied after eating them.” 

Andie Mitchell struggled with weight loss and obesity since her childhood. She never found a way to eat in balance. In her memoir she described her journey in detail and now her cookbook has been published.  With these dishes she was able to reach her weight goal and maintain it, she claimed. In this cookbook she shares approximately 80 recipes and explains what ingredients are important to her and how she eats. 

I have a bunch of cookbooks and also reviewed a lot on my blog. However, there are cookbooks I fell instantly in love with. They are just beautiful to look at, with nice pictures, great stories and of course recipes that I instantly want to try. Cookbooks just do have something special, even though most recipes can be found online. In a way, Andie Mitchell’s style of cooking and some recipes she shares are similar to what I cook and like so I did not find it too inspiring. I found myself not in the target audience range. She shares recipes for a fresh breakfast, lunch, vegetables & sides, dinner or party dishes and of course sweet desserts – because life is sweet. However; honestly, nothing that I have not heard of. 

“Eating in the Middle is structured the way I eat and live my life. So, the vast majority of the recipes in this book are healthy, wholesome, and made from read food ingredient, with a focus on big, boisterous flavors. You’d swear most of them are richer than they are, like Lemon-Herb with Crispy Oven Fries or Spaghetti with Brussels Sprouts & Pancetta Cream.” 

After Andie Mitchell lost 135 lbs she felt transformed but also stopped herself from eating certain things. No more chocolate, cakes and she wondered if life is a constant diet. She missed all the foods she always loved – all those comfort dishes that are rich, creamy and cheesy. She had no idea how to incorporate those dishes in her new lifestyle and diet plan. In Eating In The Middle she explains how she dealt with this problem, as well as emotional eating, overeating and cravings. 

The dishes are easy to prepare but again, nothing inspiring or new to me simply because I consider myself an advanced cook. Also, there are many recipes that include meat and I am not a big fan of that. She also shares 3 fish recipes. If you are interested in the book I would advice you to flip through it at the bookstore before purchasing it.

What initially drew my attention to the book was that she kept her weight down for such a long time while eating this mix of indulging, yet healthy recipes. This book is beautifully done, with tons of great food photography and a gorgeous layout. Sometimes I thought I would love to sit at this table right now, in front of all the food even though I would not try everything. 

Would I like this book? 

I do recommend this book if you are a fan of Andie Mitchell’s writing. She has a very lovely, likable personality. You might also like this book if you want to know about nutritional information which Mitchell includes at the end of every recipe. Also, there are many weight loss/maintenance tips throughout the book. You may like the book if you have never heard of Kale Chips before and would like to make some. Also if you have never heard of Chia Pudding, roasted broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, carrots or sesame green beans. 

Personally, a cookbook has to give me a bit more to remain in my cookbook shelf in the kitchen. It has to be a cookbook I love to go back to because the recipes are special, new, mouth-watering and don’t seem like they are taken right out of a Cheesecake Factory menu. Recipes that are not new to me but that I liked are:  the Bagel & Lox Salad (page 64), the Creamy Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomato & Artichoke Omelet (page 38) and the All The Greens Frittata (page 33) 

Hello and Happy Thursday! 

The other day, le husband, our son and I strolled through Coburg. It was a sunny, beautiful day. A great day to discover something new. While we were a bit hungry and thirsty and got lost looking for a place to eat I remembered that Chocolaterie Seelenlust opened about a week ago. We all love chocolate and were delighted to find this amazing little gem of chocolate heaven in the heart of Coburg (Northern Bavaria). 

As soon as we stepped into the store we smelled this sweet chocolate smell and I was overwhelmed with a plethora of shelves to explore and this magic that was in the air. The lighting at the store made me instantly feel comfortable, warm and welcome. It seems everything works really well and in harmony together. When visiting the chocolaterie, most importantly, take your time. There is a lot to see and discover. 

You will find many surprises at the lower level of the store. For once, there is chocolate in any form you can imagine. Do check out the store’s website below to see all the different assortments and products from all over the world. Besides that, everything is decorated and displayed with many lovely details. 

While I browsed through the store my thoughts wandered slowly; happy thoughts. All with a feeling of wanting to rest here and stay a while. The owner, Dagmar Schmidt, did a fantastic job and let her phantasy play while decorating and making the customer feel great. I overheard a conversation she had with an elderly woman who came to the store. “I am looking for something spicy, with dark chocolate but also a hint of sweetness,” she said. Dagmar Schmidt smiled and answered, “I have exactly what you are looking for. Follow me”. The elderly woman left with a bar of chocolate, a bottle of wine and a big smile on her face. Perfection. 

Are you looking for a personal, special gift for someone? This is the place to go. As a matter of fact, you will find gifts for any and every occasion. You won’t find any regular over the counter chocolate but rather a fine selection of the best chocolates that are out there. The owner can help you out and explain the different flavors of chocolates, which ones work best with your character or mood as well as the plethora of different cacao types from around the globe. Dagmar Schmidt’s assortment of chocolates is breathtaking. Try a hot chocolate, close your eyes and enjoy! Observe how you feel, how it tastes. You will be surprised. 

On the upper floor you will find accessories, decoration, apartment and living. Also, an assortment of toys for children, a small corner of baby clothing and so much more. Overall, I highly recommend this place. Let me know if you checked it out and if you liked it as much as I did, or more. Enjoy! 

Warenhaus Seelenlust

Webergasse 32
96450 Coburg
Tel: 09561/6757664
E-Mail: seelenlust@gmx.de

Opening hours: 

Monday-Friday 10 am to 6 pm

Saturday 10 am to 3pm 

This review can be also found on TripAdvisor. 

Hello and Happy Monday! 

What is the term you hear more often? Motherhood or Fatherhood? Yep, right! Motherhood. There are just so many topics on trying to balance work and motherhood and whatnot. I would love to hear more conversations that include both parents in one way or the other. Le husband came back home today and seeing my son all happy and content made me think about parenthood and that culture still expects certain roles for men and women. I have met many friends with kids who told me that they all try to be the best parent they can possibly be. And of course everyone’s fatherhood looks different. But why is it that fatherhood and motherhood still seems to look so different from each other? 

When le husband came home I honestly don’t feel this significant difference from his parenting to mine. Of course we are petit Joel’s parents. And we both have one goal. To teach, nourish, protect (especially from all those cars that drive back and forth in front of my parent’s house) and love him. The way our life is for the last 2 1/2 years, I have to say that I physically did most of the work with our son. And of course, due to biology my husband was not able to let’s say breastfeed him for 13!! months. I truly treasured those times, even though it was very tough at points. 

Le husband is gone for quite some time and when he does come back he helps me of course. He gets petit Joel ready every morning so I can take my time and do whatever I need to write or read and whatnot. He gets up at night when our son wakes up to calm him down smoothly.  He takes him for a bicycle ride, plays soccer, makes him breakfast, lunch or dinner. Le husband is as skilled as a father as I am  skilled in being a mother. It just works somehow. Everybody does it, things get accomplished. Even though sometimes I think that he should do this or that differently – which is just my perspective. His way works just as fine.  This is just my experience of a stay at home mom and a husband who is unfortunately almost never with us. Wherever the husband is, and even if both parents work full-time I think it is possible to practice equal parenting. Sometimes all it takes is some shifting of responsibilities, or just letting go of certain set ways of how things “should be done” and communicating more. 

The funny thing is when I tell people what I or my husband do for a living they look at me with big eyes. It is just so out of the ordinary for many that they cannot see how all this can work. How my son even recognized my husband and his father, listens to him or respects him. I know when people tell me that they could never do that they are usually still kind [mostly the ones that have children as well] and acknowledge what an incredible job it is to be a mother. And of course very hard work. It is a huge commitment and sacrifice, this incredible journey to prepare your child for this huge world when all you really want to do is just make sure that they are not sick, that they feel comfortable when their nose is stuffed and that their little heart beats normally. 

When people ask me how I manage all this amount of reading and writing even though I have a child, I tell them I just do it. I find a way and I find time.  And I am not even working these days. On a flip side, nobody mentions anything about my husband and how he deals with fatherhood and his work. No one even asks about the father’s abilities to figure the child-thing out because it is usually all about the mother. Why is that? The father just smoothly sails along, it seems. It would be awesome to answer questions how my husband deals with his career and family. How he changes diapers, if he knows what petit Joel’s favorite dishes are.  Or how he wipes his nose when he is sick. Will there somehow always be this gap?